Police locate toys stolen from Salvation Army warehouse in Toronto

A portion of the toys that disappeared from a Salvation Army warehouse in Toronto over the last two years has been located in a warehouse west of the city.

CTV News has confirmed that police have found skids filled with baby strollers, cribs and baby toys in a Brampton Friday. The haul is enough to fill three tractor trailers.

“A hundred and forty-six skids of stolen property were recovered at a commercial warehouse in Brampton,” said Toronto Police Const. Tony Vella. “The investigation is ongoing at this point.”

The items are now in the possession of the Toronto Police Service and are being itemized. Once the inventory is complete, they will be returned to the Salvation Army.

There is no word yet on any arrests. More information is expected to be released on Monday.

Following the news that the skids of items had been located, the Salvation Army released a statement thanking police for their efforts.

“We commend the Toronto Police Service for what appears to be timely progress in its investigation and wish it continued success,” said spokesperson Maj. John Murray. “Further, we very much appreciate the response of individuals and companies that have stepped forward with donations at our time of need.”

Earlier this week, Murray said an internal audit revealed that about 100,000 toys worth approximately $2 million disappeared from one of the charity’s warehouses north of the city, over a two-year period.

He explained that a whistleblower first called attention to the missing toys in August, triggering the internal investigation.

Murray stressed that there was no reason to believe such thefts occurred anywhere else and that the Salvation Army considers every donation made to them as “sacred.”

No charges have been laid in the alleged theft, but the charity fired the executive director of its Railside Drive warehouse, David Rennie.

Within days, several companies stepped up donations to the Salvation Army’s annual Christmas season toy drive.

Spinmaster Toys donated $100,000 to help “chip away” at the $2-million loss. Hasbro Canada also pledged $250,000 in toys to CTV’s Toy Mountain, which collects toys that are then passed on to the Salvation Army.

Anyone who has any information about this case is asked to contact Toronto police at 416-808-3300 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.